country

The winter cold is still going on, and the snow on the ground has not yet melted, but this day there is a sunny day, the sun shines on the earth, so that people get a little warmth in the cold of ice and snow.

Xue Poye's heart was warm on this cold winter day, and the matter that had been hanging on his mind finally had a very happy ending, which is of course a good thing that everyone is happy with.

The big and small employees of Xue's company also knew that Xue Poye passed three tests in a row and was about to marry Xiao Suzhen. The afterglow of this honor obviously covered everyone.

As the current big treasurer of Xue's enterprise, Nan Huaiwu personally took care of the wedding and began to arrange the dowry.

Under the leadership of Nan Huaiwu, Xue's enterprise is not a lie, so it is not a lie to make money every day, so there is no problem in terms of wealth. If it is an ordinary family, if you want to marry a lady like Xiao Suzhen, you may not be able to do it in terms of dowry. Appropriate, but this is naturally not a problem in the eyes of Xue's company.

In fact, the marriage process in ancient times was really not that simple. Just like this time, Xue Poye wanted to marry Xiao Suzhen, but there were many details in the process.

The acceptance of this step is a formal marriage proposal, and Xue Poye sent Lao Song here.

Although Lao Song didn't have great talent, he was able to handle these things properly and well-regulated. After he came to the door, because he had shown it earlier, he got the Xiao family's permission and got Xiao Suzhen's birth date.

With the birthday horoscope, it means that this marriage can continue, and the man can be hired in an open and aboveboard manner.

In terms of betrothal gifts, apart from the heavy betrothal money, it is nothing more than some fruit gift boxes.

This cake, seafood, three animals, fish, coconut, wine, Sijing fruit, fruit, four-color sugar, tea, sesame, sticker box, incense gun bracelet gold, and Douermi are all complete and detailed. First class goods.

Xue Poye was naturally very satisfied with what Nan Huaiwu and Lao Song had done.

It's just that he asked the two of them to prepare two such betrothal gifts, because apart from Xiao Suzhen, Xue Poye had to consider Yuezhu.

Yue Zhu has already been his wife by default, and now Zhou Gongzhi has also acted, so this time to marry Xiao Suzhen, no matter what, Yue Zhu has to live together.

Although Yuezhu's parents died, these etiquettes are indispensable, so according to Xiao Suzhen's specifications, there are also many procedures, and Xiao Pinshi is the elder to salute.

Pinshi is very clear about the relationship between his younger sister and Xue Poye, and he is very satisfied that his younger sister can marry Xue Poye, so everything went smoothly.

If in later generations, marrying two daughters-in-law would naturally not exist, but in this day and age, three wives and four concubines are perfectly normal, and having two wives in one day would be even more joyful, so all the employees of Xue's enterprise, big and small, were delighted Very, at least the shopkeeper's red envelopes can't be given less.

Everything is going on in an orderly manner, not only the marriage, even the matter of instructing He Ruhui to call Jiangnan merchants is also going on in an orderly manner.

No matter how famous the merchant is called by the government, they dare not refuse to come, not to mention that the person who invited him this time is Xue Poye, who is the servant of the household department. If the merchant and the household department fight, it will undoubtedly be courting death.

As the time drew near, many merchants from Suyang and Yangzhou began to come to Hangzhou, and suddenly there were many rich merchants wearing gold and silver on the streets of Hangzhou.

Xue Poye seized the time to send the betrothal gift to Xiao's family. Although Xiao Moting didn't give much enthusiasm and smiles, he obviously didn't have any worries about this marriage. All the etiquette procedures were compared. Cooperate.

Xiao Moting is a great Confucianist, well-known in Chu, marrying his daughter is naturally a big deal, so Xiao's house is full of guests and gifts all day long, Xiao Moting always likes to be pure, but such a moment is naturally not easy to refuse People are outside the door, and they have to pick up and drop off guests every day.

If all the people waiting for the gate of the Xiao Mansion are senior, prestigious and talented gentlemen, then Xue Poye's congratulations would be all-encompassing.

Naturally, all the big and small officials from the government came to congratulate with all kinds of generous gifts at once. Apart from the people in the government, merchants in Hangzhou who had taken refuge in the Xue faction and those who were afraid of the Xue faction also came to the door one after another, and there were also those who thought they were Xue Poye. Students of the same period, and those who admired Xue Poye's status even more, no matter how polite they are, they all came to express their congratulations. Before the wedding was held, Xue's company had to spare some people to deal with these occasions. something happened.

According to Xue Poye's meaning, he even thought that he would marry Mrs. Lv into the house this time. Unfortunately, since she separated at the Hongyan Pagoda that night, Mrs. Lv seemed to disappear out of thin air, and she was never seen again. Lin Wei and Xiao Shitou had no news at all, and even Pan Silang didn't know about Lv Lady's movements.

Xue Poye also sent people to Pinxiang Pavilion to inquire, but there was no news, which made him very worried. Afraid that something would happen to his door, he secretly ordered Pan Shilang to send people to look for it, and even ordered several elite Habayashi guards to pretend to be Dress up and look around.

……

……

Hangzhou Lu Mansion.

Mrs. Fang's expression was very ugly. Sitting in the elegant hall, her normally awe-inspiring face was now covered with haze, and her charming eyes were full of hatred.

"What about him?" After a long time, Mrs. Fang finally asked in a cold voice: "Where did he die?"

Lu Fu on the side hurriedly said: "Second Mistress, the young master left early in the morning, and he still can't find him now."

Madam Fang clenched her silver teeth, her face was colder than the frost outside, and the expensive and luxurious fox fur on her body seemed unable to resist the cold, her delicate body trembling slightly.

"Xue Poye...!" Mrs. Fang pronounced the name like a curse, and said coldly: "I thought he died outside, but unexpectedly he came back, and he came back with awe-inspiring prestige."

Lu Fu's face was also ugly, and he murmured: "He is now a viscount and a servant of the household department. We...we can't afford to mess with him."

Mrs. Fang snorted coldly: "Can't afford it?" It's just that this reflexive cold snort was quickly repelled by reality, with a haggard look on her face, she sighed softly: "It seems that we really can't afford to be provoked. Very I have known for a long time that Xue Poye can make some tricks, but the tricks he has created now are faster and bigger than I thought."

Lu Fu asked cautiously: "Second Mistress, Master Xue... Well, Xue Poye is going to hold a fundraising banquet at our house this time. What... what does this mean? Shall we agree?"

"What do you mean?" Mrs. Fang sneered, "He has a lot of meanings, each of which is to put our Lu family to death."

"Then we don't agree?" Lu Fu said bitterly.

A strange smile appeared on the corner of Mrs. Fang's mouth, and said lightly: "No? Then we will die faster. After all, we are just a small merchant in the Great Chu Kingdom. Now the situation is reversed, and Xue Poye's power completely overwhelms us. , or...he never put us in his eyes, how can we hit a stone with an egg."

She stood up and walked slowly to the window, outside the window there were several sage plums.

"Wait." Madam Fang stared at Han Mei and said softly, "Things are impermanent, and now we are at a disadvantage, so we can only shrink our heads. When the ice and snow melt, things will always turn around."

Her eyes couldn't help looking towards the direction of Kyoto in the north. As long as the nobles there can regroup, the Fang family and the Lu family can always rise again, they can always turn around, and they can even put some blinking characters and forces in a place of eternal doom .

"I'll give you an order, let the servants arrange it properly, and make it look good, don't let Mr. Xue find fault." Mrs. Fang gritted her silver teeth, and ordered slowly.

Although he was very unwilling, but now, Lu Fu had no choice but to take orders.

The merchants gathered here naturally knew the purpose of Mr. Xue, the servant of the household department, to gather everyone. People from the household department have spread all over Dachu, and they have launched various fundraising matters.

It's just that the officials of the household department in various places have encountered some troubles, and there are chambers of commerce in various places. Naturally, they are very resistant to the actual additional levies sent by the imperial court.Although the Ministry of Households manages the world's merchants and is the top yamen of the merchants, the merchants naturally have powerful roles. They united and resisted in every possible way, and even dragged out the laws and regulations of the Great Chu Dynasty to oppose the officials of the Household Department. As a result, the efficiency of fundraising by officials of household departments in various places is extremely low.Even if some merchants donated some money to ease the atmosphere, it is a pity that the amount is so small that it is completely a beggar attitude.

Even in Southwest Prefecture, an official from the Department of Health and Family Affairs was dragged out of the post in the middle of the night, stripped naked and beaten up in the cold night, and almost lost his life. The reason is that no evidence can be found, which is really tricky.

The south of the Yangtze River is also the source of business in the Great Chu. Whether it is the Qiao family in Suzhou, the Fang family in Yangzhou, or even the Lu family who is still dying, all of them are people who can influence the business world by stamping their feet. In addition, there are even more people in the three states. There are countless large and small merchants, which are an extremely large and amazing force. Over the years, they have formed a business routine that is not clearly stated but is kept in everyone's heart.

In order to protect their own interests, they can always hold together under certain circumstances.

Xue Poye sits in Hangzhou this time and raises money from merchants. It seems that he can suppress merchants with his official position as the servant of the household department, but he has to consider the cohesion of the Jiangnan Chamber of Commerce.

Although the Hangzhou Chamber of Commerce is currently able to influence one or two, Suzhou and Yangzhou are very strong.

Although the Qiao family in Suzhou has a relationship with him, as the president of the Suzhou Chamber of Commerce, the Qiao family must put the interests of the merchants in Suzhou first.

As for the Fang family in Yangzhou, they are definitely the opposition, both public and private, they firmly resist Xue Poye.

The backstage of the Fang family in Yangzhou is the current crown prince. Although the crown prince has been imprisoned, he has not been abolished after all. There is a possibility of lifting the ban at any time. It is also impossible to take a servant of the household department too seriously.

The merchants had their own thoughts. The donation this time would naturally depend on the actions of several big households. If the big households donated silver honestly, according to the amount of silver they donated, bloodletting would have to be done.

However, if the big households make a fuss and refuse to donate money, the big guys will naturally lean on the big households' legs. If they get some benefits, once they are traced, the big households will always bear the responsibility, and small merchants and small households will not be able to enter the court Dharma eye.

So the merchants paid close attention to the movement of the government on the one hand, but on the other hand they kept watching the actions of several leading merchants.

The new year in Dachu is approaching. For the people of Hangzhou, the turmoil far away in Kyoto has nothing to do with them. They just need to wait for the arrival of the New Year with great anticipation.

There are always happy events in the New Year, and the lantern festival and dragon boat are also a good show, so the merchants' banquet at Lu's house is nothing more than a little more talk, but it doesn't affect their purchase of new year's goods.

The big garden of the Lu Mansion was bustling with people, and they were all people from the business world. After seeing them, no matter whether they were familiar or not, they would greet each other politely.

There is no good banquet, let alone a banquet held by the household minister of the imperial court, so although everyone has a businessman's unique smile on their faces, they are all muttering in their hearts.

Bleeding may be unavoidable today, but if you can reduce the bleeding, you have to try.

Hundreds of tycoons from Jiangnan gathered in this big garden. At the beginning, it was full of enthusiasm, but after a long time, Mr. Shi Lang didn't show up. Although it is not big, but after lightly stroking the bodies of everyone, even though they are dressed in mink fur, there is still a kind of coldness from the bottom of their hearts.

"Why isn't the servant coming? Isn't this sincerely letting everyone suffer?" The rich and unruly merchants began to complain.

From the very beginning, many businessmen noticed the strangeness of this banquet.

If we let everyone drink tea and chat in this garden in the warm spring when the flowers are blooming, it would be a beautiful thing, and everyone would feel better.

However, in this cold winter and the freezing weather, it is unreasonable to let so many rich and noble people live in an empty courtyard with no roof tiles or walls, and endure the cold wind.

No matter what you say, everyone is still a person on the scene. Playing like this is somewhat unreasonable.

Some people even thought of hiding in the house to warm up, but seeing the two seats in the front row and seeing that they were sitting upright, with no intention of sheltering from the cold, they gave up the idea.

That was the seats of the Suzhou Qiao family and the Yangzhou Fang family. The principals of the two families were sitting there now, and they didn't even intend to move. Naturally, these small merchants didn't dare to make other moves.

Fang Xiaohu, the head of the Fang family in Yangzhou, is only in his 50s. He looks like a thin old man. His dry beard looks a little messy, which is not amazing. But when he smiles, it makes people feel close. His smile always looks so clean and kind.

Fang Xiaohu was wearing a black fur coat, sitting on a big chair, with a thick hat on his head, with two furred edges hanging down, looking a little funny, but everyone present knew that Fang Xiaohu was definitely not funny .

As the head of the crown prince's foreign treasury, Fang Xiaohu is definitely not a small character. The Fang family's wealth can be called Jiangnan's rich. In Jiangnan, excluding the power of the imperial court, I am afraid that no force can compete with the Fang family.

It's just that everyone vaguely knows that something seems to have happened in the capital recently. A large number of officials have been replaced. Even the crown prince, who is the crown prince, seems to have been negatively affected by this turmoil. The silence has subsided, and even the Fang family in the Prince's Waiku has calmed down for a while, without the arrogance that swept the south of the Yangtze River before, and just operating the existing business honestly.

People in this world, even if they are fighting for various interests, but as long as the situation in the capital changes slightly, many power structures outside the capital will also change accordingly.

As the saying goes, "Touch one and move the whole body", this "one" is often in the center of power, in that solemn Kyoto.

"Old man, how are you always in good health?" Fang Xiaohu looked at the old man Qiao sitting next to him with a smile, looking very respectful. He was more than ten years behind the old man, so he showed the attitude of a junior.

Mrs. Qiao sat in the big chair, wrapped tightly, holding a small wine jug, taking a sip, looking very leisurely.

"I'm old, I can't compare to young people, and I don't know when I will report to the underworld." The old man smiled, looked sideways at Fang Xiaohu, and said calmly: "I haven't been to Hangzhou for many years. Yan, I took this opportunity to come over and take a look, I almost broke an old bone, the older I get, the harder it is to suffer, haha...!"

Fang Xiaohu sighed, and said slowly: "Master Shi Lang has a high position and authority, we are in business, how dare we neglect it, no, I have a lot of trouble over there, but I have to come and serve according to Sir Minister's wishes." After a pause, he said softly: "The old man is getting old, the servant should know the situation, and won't you open the door for the old man?"

"Convenience door?" The old man remained calm, he laughed and said, "Master Fang is saying that I shouldn't be allowed to come here? Hehe, this matter is a big deal, Mr. Minister is just a public servant, and there is no convenience to find."

Fang Xiaohu nodded, moved closer, and asked, "Old Master, isn't this invitation to raise money for donations?"

He was asking knowingly, so Grandpa Qiao took a sip of his wine and said with a smile: "I can't say for sure, how can we know about the affairs of the court, we always do what we say."

Fang Xiaohu scolded "Old Fox" in his heart, and continued to ask: "Old Master, if it is really for fundraising, I don't know how the Old Master will deal with it? We are all juniors, so we should follow the old man's direction in this matter."

The old man waved his hand and said, "It's not going to happen. It's all about each family's business. I'm old and my mind is a little confused. If I don't do things properly, it's harming everyone. Hehe, Master Fang, you're capable. You should come first."

Fang Xiaohu raised his brows, and hurriedly said: "What does the old man mean, that he wants to advance and retreat with Fang?"

The old man laughed and didn't answer, but murmured, "It's really cold today, why doesn't your servant show up? Don't you really want the big guy to drink the northwest wind?" He was vague.

Fang Xiaohu cursed again in his heart, but Mrs. Qiao's appearance is like a nail, which cannot be touched.

The merchants also talked in low voices, and their seats were clearly defined. Most of the merchants in Yangzhou were behind Fang Xiaohu, those in Suzhou were naturally behind Mrs. Qiao, and the merchants in Hangzhou were on the south side. The big shopkeeper Nan Huaiwu.

Under the leadership of Nan Huaiwu, Xue's enterprise pushed the Lu family, which was originally a merchant in Hangzhou, from the altar. As Xue Poye's spokesperson, Nan Huaiwu naturally became the most influential figure in the Hangzhou business circle.